Caleb Kleppner, TrueBallot, Explains the Ranked Choice Ballot, at City Hall Meeting
“You may rank as many candidates as you want. Keep ranking them until you are indifferent about the candidates left. You may rank as many or as few candidates as you wish,” said Caleb Kleppner, of TrueBallot, to about 40 people who gathered this evening at city hall to receive instructions on voting in the city’s first ranked choice voting election. Kleppner’s company has been hired by the city at a cost of $22,000 to prepare the city for the election and to assist if no candidate wins a clear majority of the votes – or 51% – on election night.
The names of the 15 mayoral candidates are listed in alphabetical order – from Bragdon to Vail. After you have indicated your first choice in the oval next to the candidates name, you may select your 2nd choice and so on until number 15 has been selected, if you want to go that far. These picks won’t be counted until your first pick has been eliminated, if that happens. If there is a particular candidate you really don’t want to see win, then select everyone one else on the ballot. That will count against that candidate.
In the very likely situation there is no majority winner (51%) on election night because there are so many candidates, TrueBallot will assist the city clerks, starting Wednesday am, November 9th, to determine the candidate with a majority of votes.
This is a public process at the city hall, State of Maine room, which could be concluded in the early afternoon – 1:00 pm – or 2:00 pm. – or later in the day. Hard to know.